Didn’t Draw Iron - an NBA Basketball Blog

As you can read about HERE in FanNation, LeBron and the Cavs aren’t too happy about Mo Williams not making the All Star team. Ben Wallace channeled Shaquille O’Neal for a Diesel like response:

“It’s a tragedy,” Ben Wallace said. “I think it’s an injustice. It’s a fraud. We’ve got the best record in the league, and we’ve only got one guy going… It’s a travesty and a sham and a mockery. It’s a shamockery.”

LeBron is rather wisely playing the “disrespect card”. Said LeBron James: “It just shows the disrespect that basketball in Cleveland continues to get. I haven’t seen the All-Star list yet, so I can’t comment on who’s in it. But it’s definitely disrespectful that we continue to do work every year with nothing to show for it. “We all believe that Mo’s an All-Star and the reason we’ve had the best record in the NBA right now. Mo’s a big part of our team. Just look at the wins and losses from last year to this year with really only one addition - Mo Williams.”

Of course the impact you have on your team isn’t a key All Star qualifier. If it were, Mike D’Antoni would be coaching the East. Williams happens to be a perfect fit for what the Cavs needed, but Jameer is having a better year.

Still, it’s a very smart move on LeBron’s part. You look for motivation for your team anywhere you can find it. Questionable though, is a rumored response from LeBron and Nike for the All Star Game:

Dubbed the “LBJsayBigMO>Jameer” All Star Specials, they may or may not ever see the light of day. We’ll just have to wait until game time…

(don’t hold your breathe :-))

Said it before and I’ll say it again: I love NBAtv. Hours and hours of people that know something about basketball sifting through the nightly highlights. And when the show’s over, it loops!

Every Tuesday Ahmad Rashad, Chris Webber and Gary Payton host the show. It’s not exactly like you’ve joined them at Ahmad’s house to watch a game; but the only difference is they’d be dressed in sweats and not suits. Other than that, it’s exactly the same. It’s another Festivus miracle!

Webber and Payton are working so well together that they used them to fill in for Charles Barkley last week on Inside the NBA. They did a great job of infusing some life into a show that’s been getting a bit stale. Less and less basketball was being talked about each week, but Webber loves to talk hoops and he does it well. Payton loves to talk too (no secret here). He’s a perfect sidekick - opinionated, has an ego but doesn’t try to hide it, and isn’t afraid to offend. Plus, he’s got the sweetest Draft Day card you’ll ever see:

The combo of the look, the suit, and the green phone is all Payton baby (did I mention the phone?). And as unique as he is in the studio, he was just as unique on the floor. An incredible combo of skills on both ends. He is the only point guard ever to win defensive player of the year. How amazing is that fact? Here are the names from the past 20 years of DPOY: Cooper, Jordan, Eaton, Rodman, Robinson, Olajuwon, Mutombo, Mourning, Wallace, Artest, Camby, Garnett AND… Payton.

Given my love of the show, I thought I’d let you in on a fun little game I play every Tuesday night in my living room. It’s called “What the hell did Gary Payton just say?”, and he always gives me one good shot at playing it each week. Here’s this week’s episode:

**Edit: A viewer has discovered that it’s even funnier the 2nd time if you listen but don’t watch. Damn if he isn’t right.

“Join us next Wednesday at Didn’t Draw Iron for another episode of…. ‘What the Hell did Gary Payton Just Say?’”!

Enjoy.

I finally watched The Dark Knight this week, and it got me thinking.   Many NBA players either do or SHOULD embody specific superhero traits.   So I thumbed through the Superhero encyclopedia, and made my list…

Tracy McGrady / Wolverine
Wolverine possesses a healing factor that allows him to quickly recover from virtually any wound!

If only…

Dwight Howard / The Hulk
…is capable of immense feats of strength!

The (small) amount of enhancement I had to do to this picture is frightening.

Darius Miles / The Invisible Man
For a moment it seems like he’s permanently invisible, but a panel later, standing in front of a blue saucer-like thing, he says “These vibrations fix everything. I can appear and disappear at will! Now for revenge!

Strikingly fitting.  Had Portland been able to sign him to a contract a few weeks ago, this actually would have happened (at the end of the bench anyway).

Tyrus Thomas / Superman
…able to leap tall buildings in a single bound!

What about Shaq you say?  Dwight?  Not this week.   Tyrus posterization gives him that spot.

Kevin Garnett / ?
Either insane or clever.  Hopes to die in the greatest battle of his life.  Seething!

Say what you want about KG, but there’s not doubting his fire.  Has there ever been a more fierce and intense player?  So who else could KB be but…


I think that turnaround is about the smoothest thing I’ve ever edited together. Listen with the sound up.





Have any of your own suggestions?  Leave them in the comments, and maybe I’ll make a few more up.

There has been a lot of discussion about whether or not Lebron traveled at the end of the Washington game when he performed what he called the “crab dribble”. The evidence has been inconclusive until now, but a new camera angle and step by step breakdown seem to prove LeBron was indeed correct. He didn’t travel…

I’m guessing this is going to find it’s way to the refs for their next training session, but who knows. David Stern can be hard headed (crab like in a way).

I love NBAtv. Watch it relentlessly despite the jeopardy it puts my marriage in.

Here’s an hilarious moment from December 12. Rick Kamla and Steve Smith were discussing the troubles the Pistons are having since acquiring Allen Iverson. Kamla starts to ask Smith if he thinks Iverson would accept a bench role. As he does, they cut live to the Pistons game. The timing is perfect, and Steve Smith’s reaction is classic.



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